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Browns probably won't draft a new QB because some fans are disappointed.

They will when Baker fails!!!

Judging Baker Mayfield in OTAs is absurd

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...bsurd-118588821

The Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Immediately, fans and NFL Draft analysts began judging the selection. The judgment followed the Heisman Trophy winner into rookie minicamp and organized team activities (OTAs). It comes with the territory of being labeled a 'franchise quarterback.'

It is entirely fine for someone to report what they saw. Mayfield threw some interceptions and had some passes deflected. However, it is absurd to link that production to his future aspirations. Let's explain what OTAs are first.

OTAs are when the veterans and the rookies come together for a glorified walk through. It is a pitch and catch scenario with no pass rush. Players are going through the motions rather than playing at their highest level. In the case of Mayfield, he was working with the third unit. The players that have the most experience catching his passes are the ones that he had thrown to in rookie minicamp two weeks prior. It takes time to get on the same page. Wide receivers learn how to run routes and other little nuances that are specific to each quarterback. He is also operating under center extensively for the first time in his career. The adjustment led to some growing pains during rookie minicamp.

“A lot of basic mistakes that I do not usually make. You talk about just plays from the get-go. Snaps under center, we had a couple of problems. When you get used to somebody new, it is handled, but we have got to make sure that we are not worrying about that because if we take opportunities out of our guys’ hands to get the ball and play, then you are hurting yourself. Then obviously, it puts you in play to turn the ball over. Making sure we handle the basics first, and then you are able to move on and progress from there," Mayfield said earlier this month.

"We are going to hammer that until I am good and it feels natural. That is the way it should be because I can play out of the gun. Everybody here knows that...It is not catching the ball. Once you get used to a center, you are good. Just foot work. Just getting used to getting depth from the line of scrimmage. You have to get separation. In shotgun, you already have it so with the drop, you do not have to get the depth. Now the emphasis is on getting back and being comfortable and under control to where if you do have to step up, you can do that. It is just the footwork and getting comfortable.”

In general, it is known that Mayfield is accurate. In each of the past two seasons, he has completed 71-percent of his passes. He throws one interception for more than every 50 passes attempted. It is the least concerning part of his game. It will get corrected. Although, this is exactly why the team named veteran Tyrod Taylor the team's starting quarterback. The hope is that he holds off the Sooner for an entire season in order to allow him to learn everything that comes with being a professional quarterback.

Mayfield may ultimately be a bust. Until he gets a chance in meaningful games, his future is a complete unknown. To judge his future based on some pitch and catch during one media availability session in May is absurd. Give the guy a chance because he already has the support of inside linebacker Joe Schobert.

"Kids a stud, stories like this mean nothing. It’s the first week of OTA’s," Schobert said on Twitter in response to a story that read 'Baker Mayfield throws three interceptions in rough OTA.'

Mayfield completed 285-of-404 passes for 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions last season. He also had 97 carries for 311 yards and five touchdowns. His arms were 30 1/4 inches long while his hands were 9 6/8 inches. He posted a 4.84 in the 40-yard dash, a 29-inch vertical leap and an 111 inch broad jump.

You didn't answer his question. Instead, you posted an article that said it was "absurd" to evaluate his performance.

And if Faker has a great practice, I'm sure you will post all the positive articles about how "great" he is looking in camp.

He's not going to fail any more than any of the other quarterbacks drafted in the first round.

Mayfield was the safest pick. He still might fail, but it would have been a bigger risk to draft any of the other quarterbacks with the #1 pick.

smh

I disagree. Baker was a much riskier pick than Darnold or Rosen. Size alone gives them a much better chance to succeed. Then Baker did not run a pro style offense. He ran the college gimmick spread offense that Weeden and Manziel ran. What could go wrong?

No.


You hear this a lot, but no one can actually name a quarterback who failed because he was too short.

I know this is the guy you didn't want and I get that there were things he did in college that rubbed you the wrong way, but we've had far worse character guys (from college) on this team. Najee Davenport pooped in a girls closet in college. Glenn Winston cheap shotted (via punch) a kid at MSU and ended his hockey career. Didn't Sheard throw someone through a window?

Realistically, He's the first pick of the draft and therefore he'll be around awhile.

Can't you just give him a clean slate as a pro instead of calling him "Faker" before he's done anything wrong as a Brown/pro? Kind of like how you try not to have pre-determined opinions about students before the school year starts?

It's just gonna be a long couple years for you if you start out with such a lousy opinion of the guy

....and I'm sure you'll post that it's because of the great job Huebris is doing.

I hadn't read it, but just did. Thanks.

Obviously we all know it's too early and haphazard to evaluate him in OTAs ... but still, it's more info than we had about him than a few weeks ago

EO, JMHO- dislike the "kids" label- we send 18's to Iraq and other nice places DAILY. Legal adult is 18, so please lose the kid assertion. Young adults make errors- Baker and Manziel are not the same- thank God. Hope Baker ends up being a quality citizen and quarterback....GO Browns!!!!

j/c:

Report: Browns blown away by how teammates gravitating toward Baker Mayfield

With two sets of OTA sessions in the books and one more coming this week before mandatory minicamp, it’s been all positives on the Baker Mayfield front in Cleveland. According to Jared Tokarz of The NFL Draft Insider, he has a Browns source that tells him people inside Berea are “blown away” by how teammates are gravitating toward the rookie quarterback.



That doesn’t mean there will be a divide in the locker room between Tyrod Taylor and Mayfield. I think everyone knows what the situation is in Cleveland — Taylor is a respected presence for 2018, but the players know Mayfield is the future of the franchise. It’s only a good sign that he is already earning the respect and comfort of his peers.
https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2018/6/3/1...-baker-mayfield

Everyone who has ever had contact with Baker Mayfield says the same thing about him being a great teammate. He seems to have a 100% approval rating.

To get it back on track, it is a good sign that Baker seems to be gaining the respect of his teammates.

I do take some of that with a grain of salt. He is the #1 pick, a QB to boot. I think most players know they need to show some support for the guy because at least in the FO's eye, he is the guy. Baker isn't going anywhere any time soon, so why wouldn't you support him?

It's a building process. The foundation is being laid.

Maybe its only me, but its really hard to like a guy o calls himself on the 3rd person....

I'm not on that locker room, but its strange for players to gravitate to a QB with his antics and that is struggling in OTA's.

Strange comment.

maybe he tells some good jokes .. or has some better phone #s in his "little black book"

I'm confused. I read a article where he didn't have the best day with the three's and he threw a few picks with 2 of them being tipped but other than that it was a OK day. And that was the first day!! I haven't seen anything else on him Struggling. Have i missed something?
Is this all based on ONE practice??
God forbid he make ANY bad throws at his first practice.. Shame!
Smh

I wouldn't read too much into the OTAs. Training Camp and Pre-Season will be a better indicator.

This is just guys playing in shorts. From what i've read/listened to, there's been up days and down days on both sides. Tyrod clearly looks like the starter (and clearly looks like a significant step up from every QB last season), and people have been impressed with Baker's arm strength. They knew he was accurate, but didn't realize the ball would have the similar pop to what Deshone KIzer showed during practices last season

No, you didn't miss anything. There's really not enough information to have a clue either way on how BM is doing from a big picture standpoint.

One side seems to make a big deal because players like the guy and the other side is basing their opinion off of one practice with third stringers.

Reality is, nobody has any real clue yet.

For anybody looking for the best information on player performance in OTA's, to me, i'd check out the Podcasts.

Dan Labbe and Mary Kay Cabot's (Orange and Brown Report) and Nate Ulrich's Podcast (forgot the name).

And the Cleveland Browns Daily Podcast is great, but that's the one that's run by guys employed by the Browns. So, while I love the thing, you have to remember that Zegura is a Cleveland Browns Employee. So it'll always have a positive spin on things.


EDIT: I throw my bluetooth ear piece in my ear and listen to the podcasts while walking the dog or driving my car places. Keeps me up to date on my Browns knowledge, and I love hearing about my team (which I can't get enough of)

Why Baker Mayfield's move up to No. 2 came at the right time

Posted June 08, 2018 at 05:27 PM | Updated June 08, 2018 at 06:03 PM

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2018/06/why_baker_mayfield_working_wit.html

Why Baker Mayfield's promotion to No. 2 came at the right time

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hue Jackson promoted Baker Mayfield from third-team quarterback to second in the final week of OTAs last week, and the timing couldn’t have been better.

The move came just before the start of mandatory full squad minicamp next week, after which the players disperse until training camp begins in July. Jackson, who’s worked hard to keep Mayfield Mania in check, has downplayed the move, but it’s significant. It means that the No. 1 pick is making good progress and that coaches are ready to see him with and against better competition.

Working overtime on and off the field to learn his craft, Mayfield has earned the right to back up Tyrod Taylor and increase his workload in preparation for the season.

Here are five reasons it makes sense for Mayfield to be working with the twos, and why he should continue to do so.


1. He'll work with better skill players

Going second in the rotation gives Mayfield a chance to work with better receivers and for the coaches to evaluate him with a quality supporting cast. With the second team, he won’t always be throwing to Josh Gordon and Jarvis Landry, but they will mix and match the first and second-team throughout camp, and he’ll have many more opportunities to work with the starters than third-teamer Drew Stanton will.

In addition to Mayfield being able to better showcase his talent, he’ll be able to develop vitally-important timing and chemistry with the starters. In practice on Tuesday, he threw a touchdown pass to Corey Coleman, and that wouldn’t have happened on the third team.

At some point this season, Mayfield will be pressed into service, and reps with the starters will be hard to come by during the season. He’ll mostly be running the scout team offense, and Stanton will barely be getting any reps.

2. He'll face better defenders

As the backup QB, Mayfield will have more opportunities to face the first- and second-team defense, which is invaluable at this stage of his development. On several occasions last week, he held onto the ball too long and would’ve been sacked. Mayfield needs to get a feel for the speed of the game, and this will only happen if he’s got Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah and other top defenders swarming him.

He’s also still learning how to operate under center, and he needs to do it under the extreme pressure of an attacking front.

“He’s really improved (under center),’’ Jackson said Friday on ESPN’s NFL Live. “When we go way back to the rookie minicamp we had right after the draft, that was different for him but he worked extremely hard at it. It’s not an issue anymore. I knew he would cure that problem pretty quickly and he’s done that.’’

3. It will boost his confidence

Mayfield admitted this week that he hasn’t been happy with his progress, and the bump up to No. 2 is a much-needed vote of confidence.

Unlike Johnny Manziel, Mayfield is working extremely hard, and has earned the promotion. The Browns have to work hard to make sure they strike the proper balance between slow-playing it and not letting him get discouraged. It’s tough to go from winning the Heisman Trophy and playing in the final four to riding the bench in the pros.

Mayfield has never taken no for an answer, going from walk-on to starter twice in college. The Browns must guard against him getting frustrated and keep his head firmly in the game.

4. Drew Stanton doesn't need the reps

Stanton has started 17 games in his 11-year NFL career, and he doesn’t need the extra reps. He’s been around long enough, as a backup with the Lions, Colts and Cardinals, to get thrown into a game and excel.

In his four seasons with the Cardinals, he went 9-4, including 3-1 last season. If Stanton plays at all this season, it would likely be early on for an injured Taylor before Mayfield is ready to play. If the Browns are clearly out of it down the stretch, they will likely want to give their top pick some playing time.

With the move up, Jackson says Mayfield is getting the same amount of reps, but last week with the threes he seemed to get fewer. Mayfield needs the extra work, and he needs it with the players who will be around during the season.

5. It doesn't mean he's close to beating out Taylor

The advancement doesn't mean that Mayfield is close to catching Taylor. He’s not. Taylor is still significantly ahead and on track to start the season.

“Obviously Tyrod’s our starting quarterback,’’ Jackson said Friday. “He’s had a really, really good camp this spring. He’s been outstanding and obviously Baker’s done some really good things too. I’m really excited about his future.

"Obviously (Mayfield) was the first player drafted and he’s shown that in practice. He has tremendous arm talent, he does a lot of things well, but again he’s a young player and he’s trying to find his way and learn the National Football League. ... I think we’re very fortunate and blessed to have Tyrod here because Tyrod is going to do some great things for us."

The promotion is the logical next step for Mayfield, and there’s no reason to reverse it now, even though Jackson continues to downplay it.

A fine post with some football sense. He also has more access to better folks where he will need to make his living. A caliber promotion of a kind. I am assuming he will get reps, get lost, get helped, and do it all over again. But this was a good move IMO as well. TT needs most of the reps just for personnel prep, getting used to these guys.

Good move by Hue for all the reasons stated.

I like our QB room. If TT plays well, we might find a way to keep in another year or two. I like Baker and would have drafted him if i was the person making the picks, but I am not one who feels that he has to take over at some point this year, or even next.

Everything about this kid says he has a shot ... lets hope he can play and keep his cool because everythng else is there ... very impressive interview ...

Good Luck Baker ...

Move to 2nd string makes perfect sense. As far as Baker, it seems he's not only saying all the right things, but doing all the right things. All accounts are that of a young man taking nothing for granted and busting his rump to get it done. I think it was Ward last week, asked what he thinks of Baker... His response was "Well, he reads the playbook A LOT."

We're in a good place. Generally, "screaming" for the backup begins with a starter making mistake after mistake. It's one thing to throw your hands in the air because your QB is not doing enough to win games, it's quite another when he is constantly doing things that make you lose games. Tyrod's m.o. will bode well in keeping Baker off the field and out of the limelight of yet another Browns QB controversy... I hope.

I think MKC is FOS.

Hue said not to read much into it, he just wanted to give Baker some reps with the twos and it doesn't mean he's there permanently.

Jesus, I can't stand her work.

Browns will be looking for a real franchise QB in 2020 when Jake Fromm comes out. Baker and the Browns will go down as a trivia question what team selected Baker Mayfield #1 overall before hall of fame QB's Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen.

I agree with you on this about MKC. She's almost as bad as Grossi.

However, I think Mayfield has a better chance starting the season as QB1 than QB3.

No, you are right. But I think it will help expedite the process. I'm not sure he'll start the opening game, much like I wasn't sure we would even draft him, but I think Baker playing this season is inevitable.

I am very sure those two have the money to buy a ticket and go in and look around.

It may be. I am not saying I don't want him to play. The kid walked on to two pretty good football schools and won the job from the get go. I don't see that happening here, but at some point this season, we might put him in because he has earned it or we suck with TT and might as well let Baker take a few licks later in the season.

For right now, I am excited about what TT brings to the table, especially with the players we have around him. I am not going to rule anything out.

I know we brought in TT as a bridge to Baker, but if TT plays lights out, get him signed to another contract. I don't care who plays the position if we are winning. Why not TT? He is at a point in his career where many QBs made a nice jump in play when given a fresh start.

I find posts like these no less silly than those predicting he will be a franchise QB. The jury is far from out and nobody really knows how any of this will turn out.

As it stands, he's the QB they drafted at #1. As such, I'll support him and hope for the best. I'll neither play the homer nor the hater.

And it'd be hard to take a different stance IMO. See what plays out. No need to rush the process at the moment.

This is a fair comment from Pit... although I still think it's a little different than if someone were to simply say Baker is our franchise quarterback.

This is the equivalent of us drafting a QB with the "Mr. Irrelevant" pick and someone declaring him as the franchise quarterback.

Saying the guy we drafted #1 overall will be a flop and we'll be back drafting another QB in a couple years is downright trollful. You are basically discrediting several reputable NFL GMs and football minds saying you know more than they do...

I'm sure the difference is comprehensible.

Hope this is taken the way I mean it which is, I disagree but not wanting to be disagreeable.

I can't speak for other fan bases, I'm a Browns fan and there is a tendency among some to favor any player who is not a Browns' player. The mythical "we gotta get this guy", guy. Mayfield has succeeded at every level he has played and he's done it by overcoming obstacles at every turn. He deserves the chance to prove it on the field.

I am a Browns fan and have been a Browns fan my whole life. I hope Mayfield makes me eat Crow. I really do, and I will root for him when he is on the field. But, I see this selection as the worst selection at #1 overall I have ever scene. Two legit pro typical franchise caliber QB's and we select an undersized project QB. There is no wonder this team has only won 1 game in 2 years.

I don't know what Baker will do on the field. I don't really like a lot about him as a qb. I like even less about him as a person. However, our guys thought he was the best player in the draft and there are rumors out there [maybe fueled by his agent] that other teams also had him ranked very high.

All of those guys know way more about him than I do.

However, do I have to like Baker Mayfield? And if I don't, does that make me a bad fan? And if I am a bad Brown's fan, is that really a character flaw?